We are living through the death of democracy and the onset of Techno-Feudalism. But this is not a time when linear systems can hold and feudalism was nothing if not linear. So how can we be part of a transformative process that will let us lay the foundations for a future we’d be proud to leave behind?
Is it possible that 2024 might be the year of ‘Peak polarisation’? Audrey Tang certainly thinks so and in this wide-deep, mind-expanding conversation, we explore everything from the dual nature of AGI to the potential for liberational education that gives young people a sense of agency, interaction and the common good, to ways to rescue democracy to recipes for sound sleep.
How is Druidry alive in the contemporary world? What are the values and practices that make it so suited to the inflexion point of the moment? Why – and how – does it mesh so well with other, more spiritual traditions? And how does the practice of Will, the honing of intent, create the magic we need to see in our world?
Our guest today shares straightforward practices that any of us can do to help us with grounding, attunement, opening and integration so that we can be the nodes in the web of life. This is key: we need to stop trying to think our way out of this with our head minds. It doesn’t work. It’s not going to work. We need to come into our physical bodies, find that truly calming place of peace – and then find connections we can trust with the wider web.
We are not going back. But how do we go forward now in a world where the old norms are under assault by people who move fast and break everything? How do we find a place of balance and compassion – for ourselves, each other and the More than Human world – so that we can move forward in a way that isn’t just a replaying of the old binaries?
How do we all respond to the seismic events of the US election? Specifically, how do those of us over 50 respond? (and how would the younger generations like us to respond)?
How does an understanding of what makes dogs tick, help us to understand ourselves and our place in the world? What does it take to feel safe – as a human, or as a dog (or cat, or horse, or… anything)? And how can we help ourselves and each other find regulation in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous)?
How do we recover our birthright as awake, aware nodes in the greater Web of Life? How do we find the compassion and courage to be the best of ourselves? Cynthia Jurs is a Buddhist who has spent the past 34 years carrying out sacred pilgrimages all around the world, burying a network of ’Treasure Vases’ to build a web of compassion and care – and more people are joining her all the time. We can all be part of this.
In this moment of transition, we need to become the best of ourselves, as individuals, and as a culture. But how? What does it look like? More importantly, what does it feel like? Designer and Thrutopian thinker, Jenny Grettve says it’ll feel as if we care for the web or life as a mother care for her children. And we’d better learn how to do it as fast as we can.
What can we do that will actually serve the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible? How do we open the doors to possibility so that we can shift from the disconnection of our culture to a path of real heart-mind connection to the web of life?
Humanity is a storied species – everything we do from forming partnerships, to buying stuff, to moving house, to getting a new job… arises from the stories we tell ourselves and each other about ourselves and each other. If we’re going to shift to a new way of being, the route will be led by the stories we can build of how it will look and feel, how we’ll be more alive, more connected, have a deeper sense of being, belonging, becoming…
Our guest this week stands at the place where neuropsychology, shamanic practice and artistic practice meet. We explore the transformative power of theatre and the importance of integrating body, mind, and spirit to foster personal and collective growth and Jessica shares a clip from one of her own practices which is solid podcasting gold!